Changes

==Eruption of A.D. 79==

==Eruption of A.D. 79==

In August 20 of A.D. 79, the earthquake activity intensified, and the normally calm sea gave way to large waves. Horses, cattle and birds became pensive and restless, as if they could sense the catastrophe that awaited the town. According to one version of Pliny the Younger, and backed by other evidence,<ref>http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2008/09/29/pompeii-fish-sauce.html</ref><ref>http://berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/97legacy/pompeii.html</ref><ref>http://www.archaeology.co.uk/world-features/visiting-pompeii/page-3.htm</ref> on Aug. 24,<ref>some archaeological evidence indicates the city was buried two months later</ref> the day after the feast of  Vulcanalia - the Roman god of fire - Mount  Mt. Vesuvius suffered a massive eruption. 

In August 20 of A.D. 79, earthquake activity intensified, and the normally calm sea gave way to large waves. Horses, cattle and birds became pensive and restless, as if they could sense the catastrophe that awaited the town. On Aug. 24, the day after the feast of  Vulcanalia (the Roman pagan god of fire) Mount  Mt. Vesuvius suffered a massive eruption. This date is in accordance with one version of Pliny the Younger, and is most universally held as the day of the beginning of the eruption,<ref>http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2008/09/29/pompeii-fish-sauce.html</ref><ref>http://berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/97legacy/pompeii.html</ref> with it most poisonous gasses coming the day next,<ref>http://www.archaeology.co.uk/world-features/visiting-pompeii/page-3.htm</ref> while some archaeological evidence indicates the city was buried two months later.<ref>http://quakeinfo.ucsd.edu/~gabi/erth15-06/lecture08/pliny.html</ref>

18 year old Gaius Plinius (Pliny the Younger) witnessed the incredible catastrophe from his uncle's  villa in the city of Misenum on the Bay of Naples, about 20 miles from Mount Vesuvius. In writing to the Roman historian Tacitus of what he saw, he states,

18 year old Gaius Plinius (Pliny the Younger) witnessed the incredible catastrophe from his uncle's  villa in the city of Misenum on the Bay of Naples, about 20 miles from Mount Vesuvius. Writing to the Roman historian Tacitus of what he saw, Gaius states,

{{cquote|On August 24, about one in the afternoon, my mother drew my uncle's attention to a cloud of unusual size and appearance. It was not clear from a distance as to which mountain the cloud was rising from, although it was afterward known to be Vesuvius. The cloud's appearance can best be described as looking like an umbrella pine (Mediterranean pine tree), for it rose to a great height on sort of a trunk and then split off into branches. I believe, because it was first driven by a sudden gust of air, then, with its diminution or because of the weight, the cloud expanded laterally, sometimes white, sometimes dark and stained by the sustained sand and ash.}}

{{cquote|On August 24, about one in the afternoon, my mother drew my uncle's attention to a cloud of unusual size and appearance. It was not clear from a distance as to which mountain the cloud was rising from, although it was afterward known to be Vesuvius. The cloud's appearance can best be described as looking like an umbrella pine (Mediterranean pine tree), for it rose to a great height on sort of a trunk and then split off into branches. I believe, because it was first driven by a sudden gust of air, then, with its diminution or because of the weight, the cloud expanded laterally, sometimes white, sometimes dark and stained by the sustained sand and ash.}}